Mosman locals furious over Tom Waterhouse’s plans for $13M mansion
Proposed developments to Aussie bookmaker Tom Waterhouse’s beachfront home have drawn fury from Mosman locals, forcing the fight to be taken to court.
Aussie bookmaker Tom Waterhouse is facing backlash from Mosman locals over plans to knock down his beachfront house and replace it with a new multimillion-dollar rebuild.
Mr Waterhouse, bookmaker and CEO of venture capital fund Waterhouse VC, purchased the property on Wyargine St, Mosman, for $13 million in 2014.
In November last year, he and his wife Hoda Vakili applied to demolish the home and replace it with a $4 million Luigi Rosselli-designed property, complete with two storeys, a pool and a pergola.
But his neighbours are less than happy with the sprawling design, with 19 locals making submissions in response to Mr Waterhouse’s DA.
The complaints range from the proposed height of the build “obliterating” views of the beach and blocking sunlight to surrounding properties, to negatively impacting public amenity and producing noise pollution from the proposed airconditioning system.
In her submission, Mosman local Angela Bambach said the proposed development was “inappropriate” for the site and “completely at odds with the streets and beachscape”.
“In fact it looks more like it belongs on the French Riviera than Balmoral Beach,” she said.
Ms Bambach claimed there would have negative impacts on public amenity if the build was to go ahead as planned.
“The proposed development would cause a devastating loss of public amenityboth in the form of views of the beach from Wyargine St footpath (which were specifically preserved during the upgrade of parking in the Stancliff building) and on the beach itself,” she said.
“Directly in front of the house there is a shady, leafy area that provides a haven of natural shade and sun protection for young families who utilise the shallow and protected waters of Edwards Beach.
“This would be a tragic loss of vegetation, beauty, bird and animal habitat and visitor amenity.”
Another resident claimed the DA was “non-compliant” and would have a “detrimental impact” on the amenity of their property and neighbouring properties.
“The proposed development is neither consistent nor compliant with the council’s stated
aims and objectives for the area and official development controls,” the submission stated.
The resident also claimed that the noise pollution from the airconditioning units to be placed on the northern side of the home would be “unacceptable”.
A separate submission also claimed the view from the public path off Wyargine St leading down to Balmoral Beach would be “completely obliterated” by the development.
Another local claimed the proposed bulk and height of the build would be “extremely imposing” on its neighbours.
Another submission noted: “We currently enjoy an adequate separation between the buildings but the proposed development with its non-compliant side set backs, wall heights and bulk and scale will drastically impact our access to natural light and southern air flow.”
The submissions from unimpressed locals prompted Mr Waterhouse to lodge an appeal to the Land & Environment Court last month.
A decision on the proposed development is yet to be made.
Mr Waterhouse is the son of famous bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse and legendary horse trainer Gai Waterhouse.
These days he is mainly based in London, with his wife and three children leaving Sydney in 2021 to move abroad.
Mr Waterhouse has been living there since opening an office in Berkeley Square House in Mayfair.
But, while they may be living in London, Mosman has been the place where many of Waterhouse family members have resided for years.